Four weeks ago tonight, Panthers tight end Hayden Hurst suffered a concussion during a game against the Bears. He remains in the concussion protocol.
His father, Jerry, provided an alarming update yesterday on X.
Jerry Hurst said that Hayden “has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Amnesia by an independent neurologist as a result of the hit he took in Chicago November 9.”
Hurst took a big hit in the fourth quarter of the game. It was alarming that he was allowed to remain in the game, given that he struggled to get up. It also appeared, based on the images from the broadcast, that he was briefly in the fencing posture.
“Hurst had the wind knocked out of him on the play,” the league told PFT via email on November 17. “There was no fencing posture. He was evaluated on the sidelines by the medical staff as he explained what happened. Concussion symptoms presented themselves following the game and the team appropriately placed him in the concussion protocol. It is not uncommon for symptoms to arise following a game.”
The constant challenge for the NFL’s concussion spotters is to get a player off the field after an initial head trauma, because a second one on the heels of the first one can create a very serious outcome. Any reasonable person watching the game should have concluded that Hurst might have suffered a head injury. It should have been enough to get him properly evaluated before he re-entered the game.
The Panthers will have a new head coach for the 2024 season and they will also have a new plan for training camp.
The team announced on Wednesday that they will be staying in Charlotte for training camp next summer. They have held training camp at Wofford College for most of the last three decades, but they will remain at their facility for next year’s camp.
“We’re excited to hold training camp at our facility in Charlotte,” team president Kristi Coleman said. “We appreciate Wofford and the Spartanburg community for their hospitality over the years. We are dedicated to the fans in South Carolina, and we will continue to bring fan and community events to the state.”
Renovations to the facility will be done after the end of the season and the team plans to have three full-length practice fields available for them to work on next summer.
Justin McCray started at left guard for the Panthers in their Week 13 loss to the Buccaneers after being elevated from the practice squad, but he’s now a permanent member of the active roster.
The Panthers announced that they signed McCray off the practice squad on Tuesday. McCray had been called up for each of the last three Panthers games, which left him out of temporary elevations.
McCray signed with the Panthers this offseason after spending the last two years in Houston. He’s also played for the Falcons, Browns, and Packers over the course of a career that has seen him play in 79 regular season games.
The Panthers also brought quarterback Jake Luton back to the practice squad. Wide receiver Matt Landers and linebacker Jordan Thomas were released from the practice squad to round out the day’s moves.
Saints quarterback Derek Carr is back in the concussion protocol.
Carr suffered his second concussion in the last four weeks during Sunday’s 33-28 loss to the Lions in Detroit and he has also dealt with multiple right shoulder issues, but he’s yet to miss a start in his first season in New Orleans. After Sunday’s loss, head coach Dennis Allen faced questions about whether the time has come for that to change.
Allen said that “it’s concerning” any time a player has a concussion in response to a question about multiple head injuries in a short period of time and he was also asked about the cumulative effect of the injuries being a reason to sit Carr down. The team did something similar with Jameis Winston last year, but Allen said it’s not the same picture for the two players.
“I think both of those are totally different situations,” Allen said. “They’re both totally different situations. We’re not getting into what we did last year and what we’re doing this year, alright? Look, Derek’s in the concussion protocol right now. We will evaluate that as we go.”
The Saints have home games against the Panthers and Giants the next two weeks and they need to start stacking some wins if they’re going to have a shot at the NFC South title. The concussion may keep Carr out the picture for at least the Panthers game and the home crowd may not mind it if Allen were to extend any time away from the field.
The Buccaneers fell behind the Panthers in the third quarter on Sunday, but it turned out to be a brief change of fortunes.
Wide receiver Mike Evans beat his man off the line and took a pass from Baker Mayfield 75 yards for a touchdown that put the Bucs up for good. The touchdown was the 91st of his career, which is tied for 13th in league history, and he ended the night with seven catches for 162 yards. That pushed him to 1,012 yards on the season, which means that he’s had 1,000 receiving yards in all 10 of his NFL seasons.
Jerry Rice is the only receiver who has had more 1,000-yard seasons and Evans said after the 21-18 win that he’s hoping to make a run at Rice’s 14-season mark.
“I’m happy we got the win, most importantly,” Evans said, via the team’s website. “I’m happy with the record, obviously. I’ve had a lot of great quarterbacks and offensive coordinators who believed in me, so I really appreciate them. Hopefully I can keep that streak going for however long my career goes.”
The win ended a two-game Bucs losing streak and keeps them a game back of the Falcons in the NFC South heading into next weekend’s game in Atlanta. Evans is one of the biggest reasons to think the Bucs can win that game and make a run at a division title in the final weeks of the season.
